Rick Aviles (October 14, 1952 – March 17, 1995) was an American stand-up comedian and actor of Puerto Rican descent who is best remembered for the role of Willie Lopez in the film Ghost.

Career

In the 1970s and 1980s, Aviles worked as a stand-up comedian on the Greenwich Village night-club circuit in New York. In 1981, he landed the role of Mad Dog in the film The Cannonball Run. He went on to act in fourteen more film productions. In 1987, Aviles landed a small part as the maintenance man in the film The Secret of My Success, starring Michael J. Fox. That same year he became the host of It's Showtime at the Apollo, and continued as host until 1991.

In 1990, Aviles landed his most memorable role. He was cast as Willie Lopez, Sam Wheat's killer, in the film Ghost. The film was a smash hit at the box office and received multiple Oscar nominations. Besides Aviles, Ghost also starred Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg. He also acted in Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train (1989) as Will Robinson; Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part III (1990) as Mask #1; Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way (1993) as "Quisqueya", starring Al Pacino; in Waterworld (1995) as the Gatesman, starring Kevin Costner and in Joe's Apartment (1996) as the voice of a cockroach.

Among the television series in which he appeared are Mr. & Mrs. Dracula (1980), The Day Women Got Even (1980), The Carol Burnett Show (1991) and Stephen King's The Stand (1994).